Tiger Stripes and Cowboy Eyes
by Wicked-Wytch
Summary: After the funeral of his best friend, Jet Black finds comfort in the most unlikely of places. R/R PLZ!!


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Tiger Stripes and Cowboy Eyes By Wicked-Wytch  
  
I don't own Cowboy Bebop, just all the DVDs, the movie, and the mangas (I'm working for the CD's). :D  
  
R/R (Please Review!) and Enjoy!  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
(Jet's POV)  
  
I found the tabby in a garbage can, just a half hour after the funeral. It had been nice enough, maybe a little too formal a ceremony for Spike. But I doubted that he cared about what kind of service it had been.   
  
Spike had never been the type of guy for big productions and his funeral hadn't really been one. I was glad about that. A small handful of his old friends attended and more didn't. I supposed most of them didn't really want to believe that he was gone. I mean... who wanted to admit that that kind of man could really be dead?   
  
But dead he was... I'd seen him in the morgue when I had gone to ID him. It had been a tough thing for me to do and for nights afterward, I could still see him in the middle of the night, pale and ragged looking with that damned long scratch across his stomach. But by morning, I'd always forget about it- pushed it to the back of my mind or forced myself to not think about it. I didn't want to remember him like that.  
  
So I left the funeral procession early, waiting only for the priest to mutter his few short words. I'd said all I had needed to say back at the morgue... and anyway, he wasn't anything but ashes anymore. Giving Faye a soft, humorless smile, I walked out of the room. I figured she would need some time on her own anyway.   
  
She'd gotten very quiet since Spike's death. I guess introspective would be a good word to describe her. She seemed to just observe everything around her in a dreamlike way. It got me worried... but at the same time, I figured it was how she was dealing. She'd loved him, though she would refuse to admit anything of the kind. I'd kept a close eye on her for a while since Spike's death, treating her much like a parent would a child. She accepted my help, which suprised me. But then again, Faye was full of suprises. I watched her closely during the funeral service. Her chest seemed to rise and fall too rapidly and her shoulders shook during the priest's short speech. I knew that she was crying, but also realized that she wouldn't have wanted me to know. So I let her mourn in solitude.   
  
And as I walked the streets of Mars, mind completely absorbed in thoughts of my dead best friend, I heard the soft growl eminate from the trash. I don't know why I walked up to those cans... it wasn't like me to go looking for trouble like that. The others have always been the troublemakers. I stay outta other's business. But something seemed to push me toward the alley. As the young cat poked its head from the metal can, I jumped back in surprise. It looked much like a small wild tiger.   
  
And then I remembered his voice...  
  
"Hey Jet... do you know a story that goes like this? ... There once was a tiger-striped cat. This cat died a million deaths and was reborn a million times and was owned by various people who he didn't care for. The cat wasn't afraid to die... One day, the cat was a free cat, a stray cat. He met a white female cat, and the two cats spent their days happily together. Years passed, and the white cat died of old age. The tiger-striped cat cried a million times, and then died. It never came back to life..."  
  
I smiled as I recalled my response, "It's a good story."  
  
And then, as always, his smart ass reply: "I hate that story. I hate cats." Repressing a chuckle, I looked closely at the small creature.   
  
I gasped as this cat gave me a wary look. It was a straggly looking thing, young and malnutritioned with large, knowing eyes that reminded me of Spike for some reason. It's eyes were different- one a light brown that almost looked gold and the other so dark brown that it could pass for black. I'm not the type of man to believe in signs from heaven... but right then I was wondering...  
  
I held my hand out to the poor creature and waited as it slowly crept toward me. It sniffed me cautiously before rubbing its head against my extended palm. For a moment we just looked at each other... then I grinned. It had been a hellish day... but for some reason this little guy seemed to relieve my sorrow somehow.   
  
"Well," I muttered to it softly, "Might as well head home." I turned and started to walk away. When I realized that the cat was watching me with those unusual brown eyes, I turned my head to the side and called to it: "Well... you coming?" With one rumble of its throat, the feline slowly started to follow me, taking care not to tag along too closely but never letting me out of its sight.   
  
I smiled as I turned and slowly walked to the Bebop. The next few months wouldn't be easy. And I'd always have a part of my soul missing where Spike had once been. I also knew that Faye would be a wreck and it would be my job to help her cope.  
  
But right then, in that moment when the tiger striped cat was following me home, I couldn't help but smile...  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Ah, I like Jet. He's just so cool and such a good guy. :D   
  
Anyway, I hoped you liked it. Thanx alot for reading. Maybe you could *trying to be coy*... review? I'd appreciate it greatly.   
  
Byebye ~Wicked 


End file.
